DAT 1200
Managerial Statistics I
The first of a two-course sequence in business applications of statistics, focused on descriptive statistics, probability and distributions, inferential statistics, and linear regression. Approximately, the first quarter of the course is about descriptive statistics and applications of covariance. The second quarter is devoted to probability: basic rules, conditional probabilities, Bayes' theorem, expected values, and probability distributions. This work is followed by an introduction to sampling distributions and inferential statistics. Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing are introduced to make inferences about parameters. The last one-fourth of the course focuses on simple linear regression. Throughout the course, functions, data analysis, VBA, and solver features of Excel are introduced.
Instructors
Balan, Fazel Anvaryazdi, Liberty Vittert, Salih Tutun, Samira Fazel Anvaryazdi, Sundari Balan, Vittert
Reviews
2 hrs/week
2026 Spring Review: There are pop quizzes you can skip three without a grade affect (at the end he gives you a lot of free ones). The HW is the most ai-able work I've ever had in my life. The first test the medidan was a 94 and the top 25% of the class got a 100%. The second (and final) test was the most cruel thing I've ever been subjected too. Every practice test was less than 15 pages and the final was 28 pages and very difficult. The median was a 60%. They did this on purpose because in years past both tests have been so easy that a 98% earns an A-. So this time they tried to make a hard test to create a distribution. Obviously it doesn't make sense to do it this way because this test was essentially a game of how fast can students take a test that's too long. Don't take it if you don't have too and if you do don't think its an easy A.
5/9/2026
2 or less hrs/week
Not hard if you pay attention, Liberty is hands down the most interesting and engaging prof for DAT120 and amongst the best in the B-school
6/29/2024
The in-class case studies are her just mostly flexing her accomplishments (deservedly so), and she has a great sense of humor. You won't learn anything ground breaking, but it is a solid intro class. There is a group project element which can eat up time out of class. Attendance is tracked and graded, so stay on top of that.
6/12/2024
2 or less hrs/week
vittert will make you watch movies instead of going to class. highly recommend. \n\nshe is insane
6/2/2024
Vittert is an engaging lecturer and as someone whose attention drifts easily, I really appreciated that. She is very sweet and funny, but I felt a lot of the time what she lectures did not translate well to homework and quizzes. I would just beware of that, as there will be things that you have to teach yourself throughout the course.
5/23/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Very easy and super interesting class. Vittert is a very chill professor and she is super forgiving.
5/21/2024
2 or less hrs/week
super engaging and in class exercises really help. definitely recommend taking notes bc they will help you on the quizzes she assigns
5/19/2024
2 or less hrs/week
Homeworks were annoying but easy. final project was spread out well and graded very easy
5/18/2024
1. You can't learn a lot from this class, but you could learn from Prof. Vittert how to think deeply about a fact by using stats knowledge (e.g., is it misleading).n2. She didn't teach technical stats knowledge. You should learn literally almost all by yourself. She didn't teach the knowledge that is tested on quizzes.n3. grading is not systematic.
5/15/2024
She is the kindest lady, always willing to help you, and cares about her students. She is SUPER hard to hear during lectures, and the class is boring, and you will learn little to nothing. Be nice to her! She cares about students and loves statistics.
5/14/2024
Professor Vittert is a charismatic and inspiring figure, and her lectures are incredibly engaging - she really drills into your head the importance of data. I agree, however, that she doesn't teach much of the actual course content, which leaves you ill-prepared for DAT 121. Those without prior stats knowledge will struggle a bit with the quizzes.
5/3/2024
I agree with a lot of the reviews here- Vittert's lectures ar interesting and she uses a lot of case studies that make the class feel applicable to real life. However, she doesn't teach much. Bus students are required to take 2 more stat classes after this, and no one I've talked to feels prepared because of her lack of teaching actual statistics.
4/17/2024
One of my favorite professors at WashU. Prof Vittert's lectures were very interesting and engaging. She was helpful and understating with the final group project. She made me more interested in stats, and she always gave real world examples that helped me understand the material better.
3/27/2024
Samira is a pretty good stats professor. The class is pretty easy as long as you pay attention. Lectures are recorded so attendance isn't really important but she likes participation. All the quizzes are online and open note and she gives lots of time to do them. The only thing is that an A is an 95% (not 93% like other classes)
1/8/2024
Office hours and textbooks fill in learning gaps. Be careful of participation grade, because there's a quick assignment every lecture! Another user seems to imply Fazel's non-American accent is hard to understand. In my experience Fazel slows down her speaking, has very clear slides to follow, which accomodates many types of learners. Caring prof!
12/27/2023
Look, Samira is a really sweet professor who tries her best to keep her students engaged. However, her class is extremely dull and it's almost impossible to pay attention in her class. Material is pretty easy.
12/25/2023
The professor is sweet, always answers emails, and is available during office hours. Paying attention in lectures isn't necessary since the slides will be more than enough to do the quizzes and homework. However, there is a class participation quick assignment every lecture, so paying attention in class won't hurt.
12/21/2023
She is incredibly sweet, and perhaps it's just the format of the class, but I don't think I learned much in the course. I came in with strong excel skills that allowed me to handle all the course's content, and they didn't really improve throughout the semester. Lectures were boring, and quizzes were so easy you don't need to pay attention.
12/17/2023
Samira is the nicest ever. She will make sure you get a good grade on things if you ask for help.
12/12/2023
Professor Liberty is literally one of the best professors I have had at WashU. She was really supportive when my group had issues choosing our project topic. She is so understanding and honestly cares about her students' success. My advice is try to participate in class and take your group projects seriously!!
8/16/2023